


First AU Fic (Underfell)

by Sprinkles257



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Angst with a SAPPY-ish ending, Angst with a happy-ish ending, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, I know I write about the same characters repeatedly, It starts off good and goes downhill from there, Papyrus-centric? I guess, So I decided to do an AU for once to spice it up, Starts in the past and ends in the present, The skelebros' relationship isn't abusive but it's VERY TENSE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-22 11:46:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14307981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sprinkles257/pseuds/Sprinkles257
Summary: A universe known as Undertale is one of many. However, it is the original. The others, known as “alternate universes” or “alternate timelines,” are variants of it.  A universe known as Underfell or the “Fell verse” is a variant where tough times have caused those who inhabit it to become...rougher.-This tells the story of two skeleton brothers, Sans and Papyrus. Even though things are hard, they and their friends keep going. Although, their relationship becomes more strained over time. How did they become this way? Let’s find out.(I pretty much copied and pasted the introduction lol.)





	First AU Fic (Underfell)

**Author's Note:**

> BOOM! My first fanfiction about an Alternate Universe. I hope you like it. :)  
> Some parts of it were inspired by maxladcomics.tumblr.com. Thank you for your awesome comics!  
> I apologize in advance for the habit I have of extreme redundancy. If you see the same thing repeated like four times, but in different words, that's why.  
> Writing Sans saying "ok" a lot felt so weird to me. I'm used to writing out the full word, "okay".  
> The thing about Underfell - no one is "bad" and no one is "good". Everyone is just trying their best, but some succeed and others don't. Oh, and there's a bit of hypocrisy.  
>  Thank you, and please enjoy! :)

A universe known as Undertale is one of many. However, it is the original. The others, known as “alternate universes” or “alternate timelines,” are variants of it. Alternate timelines are small changes – for instance, no one dies. Or someone who  _was_ alive dies. The world is generally still the same. Alternate universes, however, are very different – personality swaps, a different setting, and so on. Some alternate universes  _would_ be the same as the original if not for one sweeping change.

   A universe known as Underfell is a variant where tough times have caused those who inhabit it to become...rougher. Not necessarily meaner, but some are. Those who weren’t nice to begin with become so to even things out. The morals are reversed.

   This tells the story of two skeleton brothers, Sans and Papyrus. Even though things are hard, they and their friends keep going. Although, their relationship becomes more strained over time. How did they become this way? Let’s find out.

   The two were children. They wandered from place to place because they didn’t have a home yet. Sans was working on it with his multiple “odd jobs”. He must admit, he’s very tired, but if it benefits them he’ll do it. Papyrus was still very young, so he couldn’t do much work – but he took care of himself well. He misses his brother though, because he was sometimes absent from working late.

   Papyrus was very happy to see his brother come home one night with good news. He was just playing with the action figures Sans got him – they were slightly messed up, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

   “pap, are you in there?” He brightened up. He ran up to his brother and gave him a quick, tight hug.

   “SANS! YOU’RE HERE!”

   “oof! yep, i am. how’s it going, stinker?”

   “KIND OF LONELY WITHOUT YOU…BUT, NOT BAD!”

   “cool. anyway, i have good news. i get a shift off tomorrow, so i can spend some time with you in the morning tomorrow. sound good?”

   The little skeleton beamed. “YES!”

   “alright.” His expression got a little more serious. “sorry i can’t be around as much. you know houses cost a  _lot_ of money.”

   “…YEAH, THEY DO, DON’T THEY.” He knew his brother was working very hard. Monsters  _had_ to if they wanted to survive – but Papyrus didn’t quite know about the dangers of the “real world” yet. He shouldn’t have to, at this age. “WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU?”

   “don’t worry about it, you’re helping plenty.”

   “BY DOING WHAT?!” Papyrus yelled. “STANDING AROUND AND LOOKING CUTE?”

   Sans chuckled. “guess you are pretty cute,” he rubbed his knuckles on his younger brother’s head. “you bonehead.”

   “NYEH HEH HEH…OKAY, FINE.” He relented. Okay, he supposed it could wait for now – but he could and  _would_ help once he was older!

   Then the two skeletons went to sleep.

* * *

 

    Papyrus had a friend named Undyne. Sans wouldn’t exactly call her a friend, but they were still well acquainted.

   Undyne was older than Papyrus but younger than his brother. She lived by herself – except for two monsters that would help her sometimes. An old turtle veteran, Gerson, and Asgore Dreemurr. That’s right. She, a little kid, wasn’t afraid of the intimidating king of all monsters. She even asked him to  _fight_ her. The king, not fazed in the slightest, decided to help her become stronger.

   Asgore was an interesting fellow. How he treated others depended on how they treated him. To most, he tried to be helpful. For some, however, he was driven by his emotions. Unfortunately, the most prominent one was anger. 

   For the morning shift Sans had off, he let his brother have his friend over for a little bit. It started off normally. Undyne pulled Papyrus into a combination of a hug/noogie, and they played for a while.

   Sans was getting ready for the shift he had later in the day, with Gerson. He was pretty alright, in his opinion. Wise. A memory played in his head.

    _“hey, mr. gerson. i got all the tasks done for today.”_

_“Not bad, sonny.” Gerson said. He paused, then looked down to Sans. “Why does a kid like you need to work, anyway? Got a family?”_

_“yeah. i have a brother.”_

_“How about parents?”_

_“uh, no.”_

_“I’d ask how that’s possible, but I guess anything can happen in this crazy world.” Gerson patted the young skeleton’s head. “Wah ha ha! You’re doing pretty well for a wee one.”_

_“yeah, i guess i am.”_

_“I have a tip. Don’t let other monsters see the real you. Intimidation factor, sonny. It works. Friends and family will see you for you, but others? They’ll be lucky if they do.”_

_“thanks, mr. gerson.” That did cause him to wonder though, how does he exist? It really is a mystery, but not a relevant one. There was simply just not an explanation for it. He has the future to worry about, not the past. That advice sounded more fitting for Papyrus. He tended to…put his feelings out in the open. Confidence was a good quality, but being too open meant you were “vulnerable”. He thought to tell his brother that advice sometime._

    Then he heard Papyrus crying. In this world, it was normal to hope for the best and prepare for the worst – he expected something bad happened. So, he speed-walked over to where they were.

   “you two okay over here?” He asked.

   “Uhh…yeah! We’re fine! We just had a bit of an accident.” The fish girl replied. Papyrus’s patella had a large scratch on it, but there was no other sign of injury. A few tears were dripping down his face, but when he saw Sans he tried to compose himself.

   “Geez, I’m sorry. Do you want me to heal you?” Undyne tried to touch the little skeleton’s knee, but he flinched away.

   “D-DON’T TOUCH IT. THANK YOU, BUT I DON’T NEED HELP.” He was strong, even then. He was very adept with defensive magic – but he didn’t quite get offensive magic yet. He could fight if he wanted to, of course, but that was the thing. He didn’t really want to.

   “You sure?”

   “ _YES._ I CAN HANDLE IT! IT J-JUST HURTS…A LITTLE.”

   Sans looked at the cut. It was a little deep (which made sense if you got hit by a spear), but not  _too_ bad. He wouldn’t insist on healing (he wasn’t very good at it anyway) if his brother refused it.

   Then Undyne and Papyrus said their goodbyes. It was just the two skeletons again.

   “hey, bro?”

   The little skeleton’s head was on his knees, which were pulled up to his chest. He looked up. “WHAT?”

   “i don’t think it’s just the scratch that’s hurting you. what’s up?” Sans had a good feeling of what it was.

   He sniffled. “I WANT TO BE STRONGER FOR YOU.”

   “you already are.”

   “SURE, BUT ONLY IN ONE WAY. I WANT TO BE  _ALL_ THE WAYS!”

   Sans winced internally. He knew his brother had good intentions, but he just wanted Papyrus to be a kid. Live his life.

   “you don’t have to do that. i can tell you’re not very happy doing it, either.” He said, putting his hand on his shoulder. He was trying to hide his feelings. Lying wasn’t really Papyrus’s thing…well, it  _used to_  not be. “don’t hurt yourself, ok?”

   Papyrus put his legs down and looked at his knee.  _Don’t hurt yourself._ He didn’t want to, but what if that was the only way? He needed to spar more. They could help him overcome this…this…weakness.

   “WHY DO I HAVE TO HURT OTHERS, THEN? THERE HAS TO BE A REASON.”

   “…i’ll tell you when you’re older, pap.”

   And they left it at that. The younger of the two never forgot though. Oh yes, he would find out. He didn’t care what other hid from him—he would just hide his own things. He was always a rather emotional kid, but he sought to change that.

   Many things will change.

* * *

 

   Many things changed indeed, but it wasn’t like the flip of a switch. It was gradual.

   It all started from the day when Undyne wanted Papyrus to learn how to fight. Sans thought they should refrain from doing that until he was older.

   “Papyrus, I’m saying this as your friend.” Undyne started, placing her hand on the little skeleton’s shoulder. “You need to toughen up! I know you can do both defensive  _and_ offensive magic, you’re just not letting yourself!”

   “i think we should wait.”

   She turned around swiftly. “ _What?_ You want your brother to get himself killed or something? There’s no time for waiting.”

   “he…he shouldn’t have to deal with that. he’s just a kid!”

   “Yeah, well, so are we! We  _do_ have to deal with it. Fighting has no labels, Sans. I don’t think either of us want him to get hurt.”

   Papyrus was watching, surprisingly silent. He could feel the tension rising, but he wanted to hear what they had to say. Although, he personally wished  _he_  had a say – but he knew it was the wrong one, according to what they were saying. He couldn’t run away, and he wouldn’t! He wouldn’t hurt, but he would be bold about it!

    _YEAH. THAT SOUNDS GOOD._

   “you’re right, i don’t. but i also don’t want to force things on my brother.”

   “You can’t just spare his feelings all the time! He needs to know the truth about this world!” Didn’t Sans understand? She knew how to fight, and she was only a little older than Papyrus. Even Sans was only a teen. As much as she wanted Papyrus to be happy as well, there is a certain limit in this world to how much truth you’re allowed to bend.

    _SPARE MY FEELINGS? TRUTH? WHAT’S GOING ON…_

“ _undyne!_ ” Sans hissed, his voice getting as close to a yell as it could.

   “…Oops.” Undyne forgot Papyrus was there from how quiet he was being. “Well, this is your fault for making me blurt that out!”

   “what are you gonna do,  _poke my eyes out?_ because i don’t have any.”

   If Papyrus should see how this world  _really_ works, then he’s about to see it play before him. There was a definite escalation now, he noticed.

   “Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be, is it? Just because you’re older doesn’t mean you’re stronger. Come at me.”

   Sans wasn’t asking for a fight. He was just justifying his point…and getting a little ticked off in the process. “no!”

   “Fine then,  _coward._  I’ll come at you.” She was also getting a little more ticked off in the process. All this over a little skeleton? They must really care about Papyrus.

   But he just wanted them to  _stop._ He could connect the pieces – whatever the “truth about this world is”, it has a lot of offensive things in it, in both meanings of the word. He didn’t like it at all, and he wasn’t even truly seeing it.

    _PLEASE NO MORE…_

“you better st—”

   “Shut up!”

   “not until you put down the spear.”

    _NO!_

   “I said SHUT U—” Undyne gripped her spear but was cut off by a blue-tinted bone flying by her. It didn’t hit her, but if it was just the tiniest of bits closer, it would have.

   Papyrus was behind him both. The look in his eye sockets was indescribable. It was…malicious? No. Cold? Probably, it was hard to tell since it was rare. (His eyes were somehow so expressive, even though there was no light or anything.) There was a quality to his voice that wasn’t usually there.

   “BLUE MEANS STOP, SO I SUGGEST YOU DO. RIGHT.  _NOW._ ” When Undyne flinched slightly (more out of surprise than anything else), the little skeleton sent a few more normal bones towards both of them. However, the second they hit, Papyrus’s cold look dissipated. Now he just looked stunned. All three of them did.

   “Whoa…”

   “uh…”

   They said, oh-so eloquently.

   “AAAH! I’M SO SORRY!” Papyrus said once he was out of shock. He ran away.

   “He—he looked like he wanted to kill me.” Undyne looked at her shoulder that the bones grazed. “No damage…?”

   There was a certain power Papyrus possessed that he didn’t know of yet – he was  _very_ controlling of his magic, so much so that in dire situations he could change his stats. But there would be times where he lost control, let his feelings take over.

    _NO NO NO, THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS WAS NOT TO RUN AWAY! WHY DID I DO THAT…WHY DID I DO_ ANY  _OF THAT?!_

He now knew how this world  _could_ be – but he wasn’t fully exposed, he hasn’t been in it yet. He disliked the fact he will one day have to. He had to admit, he felt rather upset. Upset to have been lied to, upset with himself for losing control.

    _THIS IS WHY I HAVE TO GET STRONGER. THIS IS WHY I HAVE TO BE LESS OPEN._ It will take a while, and it will hurt – but it will be worth it, right? He won’t have to worry about this anymore. No one will have to worry about  _him_  anymore. He swore, when he became older, he would protect his brother and his friend.

   “papyrus? bro, where are you?”

   Ah, he should be getting back now.

* * *

 

   The rest of the night passed quietly. Both skeleton brothers wanted to say something to each other, but they didn’t. The…event…that happened earlier left them mute – not literally, only on that topic.

   Sans knew from that day on that things wouldn’t be the same as they were before. Not  _bad_ necessarily, but not as smooth. Strained. Now, Undyne would cool off eventually, he knew she would. They could reconcile.  But with his brother, it was different. Papyrus tended to hold onto negative things – and positive things, too, but not in this case. He is generally forgiving, but he’ll still be hurt even if he doesn’t say it.

   Papyrus isn’t very honest anymore.

   Monster souls are white – they have all the colors, just in low concentrations. Although there’s usually one or two traits that stick out more than others. Papyrus’s was Integrity. Doing the right thing even when nobody is looking – he’s  _trying_ to do that, definitely. However, another part of Integrity is being honest with people and yourself. He doesn’t really do that. He’s lying  _for_ others,  _to_ others, therefore to  _himself._

Over time, he inadvertently blocked himself off. He became more distant. Colder. Like that event from years ago. Every time he thought he was about to lose himself, show his  _true_ self, he hid. He kept himself going by reminding himself:  _I’M DOING THIS FOR THEM. IT’S FOR THE BEST. I FEEL SO BAD, BUT I CAN’T GIVE UP. I WON’T GIVE UP. I’M DOING THIS FOR THEM._ So on and so forth.

   One day, Papyrus asked (almost pleaded) his friend to let him become second-in-command in the Royal Guard. At first Undyne was unsure, but eventually let him in.

_“Pfft…okay, fine, you big nerd.”_

_Papyrus rubbed his arm. “NYEH HEH HEH, YEAH, NERD…THANK YOU. YOU REALLY ARE A GREAT FRIEND.” Even though she lied to him. Even though she—no! He couldn’t think of these things now. He had a goal now, and he appreciated Undyne for helping with it. But he wasn’t being a “nerd”—as much as he wanted that to be the case. Everything could be nice and lighthearted. But it wasn’t, most of the time.  He was being serious._

    From then on, the two trained together. However, sometimes Papyrus overexerted himself. Undyne had drawn the line. He agreed to learn how to fight, but  _this_ surely wasn’t good for the now-tall skeleton’s health at all. She noticed. Even the greatest had a limit.

   “Papyrus?”

   “Y—YEAH?” He replied, taking quick and shallow breaths. He technically didn’t even need to breathe, but doing it felt natural. When he couldn’t, it wasn’t painful, but it still brought him great discomfort.

   “You need to chill.  _Out._ ” Undyne looked her friend straight in the eye sockets. “Listen, I’m worried about you, okay? It hurts me to see you just, just… _deteriorate._ If that’s the word. I’m not the only one either.”

   “WHAT DO YOU—HAVE—TO WORRY ABOUT? I’M FINE. I’M THE—GREAT PAPYRUS. WHEN I FALL, I ALWAYS GET BACK UP.” Eventually, his speaking and breathing became less choppy.

   The fish woman sighed and muttered, “I’m not good with this kind of crap…” She then said, louder, “You’re just not the same, Papyrus. There aren’t a lot of things that scare me, but _this_ is one of them. If you keep going like this, well, you’re not going to keep going _at all!_ ”

“Your brother worries about you too, y’know. He may be so laid-back it doesn’t show, but he cares about you a lot. Tch. What is it with you skeletons and being so stoic?”

   “I DON’T KNOW. I GUESS IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY? NYEH HEH HEH…” His voice was joking but his expression sure wasn’t. For a second, he looked almost dejected.

   “Mm, sure. So, see you next week? Don’t you dare forget what I said!”

   “I WON’T, UNDYNE.” Then he turned around and left.

* * *

 

   Papyrus’s favorite part of the day was coming home from work. Sans returned from his shift a little after that, so he got to see him. Quiet and awkward as it was, it was better than not seeing each other at all, right?

   But tonight, he kind of just wanted to be alone. He honestly loved attention and the friends he could one day have from it, but now he wanted to be by himself. So he just went straight to his room and closed the door. He lied down on his bed and stayed still.

   Undyne was getting through to him, and it made him so _mad._ Mainly at himself, but still. His plan was never going to work. He knew deep down his friend was right. He was going to fall down one day if this behavior continued. Souls are supposed to be made of love, hope, and compassion. But if that’s true, how are they alive?

   That’s the thing. They weren’t truly living, they were just _surviving._ That’s all that mattered in this world. He didn’t want it to be true. He wished he was dreaming. He wished he was a kid again, but he also didn’t because adults were responsible and independent.  He just really, really didn’t want to deal with this anymore.

  _BUT GIVING UP ISN’T A VERY PAPYRUS THING TO DO, IS IT? I HAVE TO FINISH WHAT I STARTED._

   “boss, are you in there?” The tall skeleton was startled. That’s what Sans called him now, “boss”. He was a higher rank then his brother (who was a sentry), so it made sense. But if felt…too formal, in his opinion. Even for someone who enjoyed formality sometimes, you shouldn’t have to be all “proper” with a _family member,_ for goodness sake.

   “…NO.” He said, voice muffled by the bed and the door between them.

   “ok then.” There were a few moments of silence before Sans said, “you sure?”

   “LEAVE ME ALONE.”

   “ok, geez, don’t get your scarf in a knot.” Another pause. “sure you’re sure?”

   Papyrus grit his teeth. Didn’t his brother understand? He knew he meant well, but this was not a burden that needed to be shared. “I DON’T NEED ANY ASSISTANCE, ESPECIALLY FROM _YOU._ ”

   “…”

   _WAS THAT TOO HARSH? IT WAS, WASN’T IT?_ Papyrus sighed. “I’M SORRY FOR THAT. I AM JUST…ANNOYED.”

   “it’s fine. i’m sorry for pushing you.”

   “IT’S ALRIGHT…I’M ALRIGHT.” Papyrus hoped his brother would eventually leave from standing for too long. He didn’t. He sat there on the floor, waiting for the door to be opened. Not like he had much else to do – his numerous shifts were done for the day. His primary soul trait was Patience after all – it was a good trait to have, but it had a bad side. Waiting until it was too late.

   That was almost true, in this case.

   The tall skeleton grew, well, _im_ patient (and maybe a bit guilty) and opened the door at last.

   “YES?”

   Sans then said, bluntly, “i want you to be more honest.”

   Papyrus retorted equally bluntly, “TCH. LIKE YOU ARE.”

   “fair point. maybe we can both work on that, eh? it’d be good for us, down the line.”

   God, did he want to. “I CAN’T.”

   “yes, you can. let me in the room, will ya?” And he did, eventually. Now they were both sitting on the bed. “tell me what’s bothering you. i’ll tell you something too.”

   “…”

   “i didn’t sit out there for half an hour for nothing, ya know.”

   Neither of them were going to tell the complete truth, but not a complete lie either.

   Papyrus turned to his brother. “I…I FEEL SO BAD, SANS. THERE ARE SOME NICE MONSTERS OUT THERE, BUT I LEARNED THIS SOCIETY IS REALLY FREAKING MESSED UP.”

   Sans nodded. “yeah, it is, huh?”

   “I DON’T WANT TO LIVE EVERY DAY IN FEAR. I _CAN’T_ LIVE LIKE THAT. NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO. AND I FEEL LIKE I’M GOING TO—”

   “—fall down?”

   “YES. IT HURTS A LOT. WHO KNEW?” He looked down. “DON’T MAKE ME SAY ANY MORE.”

   “i won’t.” Deep breath. “well, you pretty much said how _i_ feel, too. i can live with it, but it’s not pleasant, ya know? it’s weakening.”

   “YOU’RE TAKING IT BETTER THAN I AM.”

   “that’s because i’m used to it.” He gave a mirthless chuckle. “that’s not a good thing, is it?”

   “NO. IF YOU…IF YOU EVER NEED TO TALK, I WILL TRY TO LISTEN.” He put his hand on his face. “OH MY GOD, I’M SUCH A HYPOCRITE.”

   “same to you.” He looked to the ceiling. “have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a normal family? not just two really weird brothers…well, ok, it would probably still be just us. but less messed up.”

   “YES, I HAVE WISHED THE SAME MANY TIMES. WHY DO YOU ASK?”

   “call me crazy, but i think this could work.”

   “ALRIGHT THEN—YOU’RE CRAZY.”

   “heh, heh heh…i probably am. but that’s not the point. i mean we _could_ be like that. maybe there’s still hope? we just have to work together on this.”

   “…”

   “boss?” Papyrus was covering his eye sockets with the heels of his palms. “you alright?”

   “WE W-WERE LIKE TH-THAT.” He said, voice shaky. “I WAS THE LITTLE B-BRIGHT EYED KID, AND Y-YOU ALWAYS WORKED LATE. I MISSED YOU S-SO MUCH, BUT I NEVER EXPECTED _TH-THIS!”_

Sans was not surprised. He missed Papyrus a lot too. He should have seen something like this happen, but he didn’t. He felt guilty for expecting so much of his brother—after knowing the truth, it would only make sense that he became melancholy like everyone else.

   “are…are you crying?”

   “ _YES._ I KNOW, I’M AN EMBARRASSMENT, C-CRYING FOR SUCH PETTY REASONS. S-SOME ‘GREAT’ MONSTER I AM.”

   “no, it’s ok. i don’t think you’re an embarrassment.” He put his arm around Papyrus’s back, tentatively. Surprisingly, he leaned over. Papyrus was trying to slow his tears, making it less obvious.

   It didn’t work.

   Sans didn’t mind. He just kept holding on. Papyrus soon enough put his arm around his brother too. He was hiding behind his shoulder. Of course, because he was taller, it was a rather awkward position.

   _THAT…THAT FEELS REALLY GOOD, ACTUALLY. I WANT TO HUG HIM RIGHT NOW. IS THAT WEIRD? PROBABLY. I DON’T CARE. I JUST REALLY WANT THIS. SUPPORT FROM SOMEONE CLOSE TO ME. SUPPOSED TO BE CLOSE TO ME, ANYWAY._

“it’s not ‘bad’ or ‘embarrassing’ to cry sometimes, you know. everyone does it.”

   “EVERYONE, REALLY.”

   “yeah. an old friend once told me that intimidation factor works. hide your feelings from everyone but friends and family. you kind of ignored the last part, huh?” Sans stroked his brother’s skull when he felt his tears start to fall again. They were probably going to be there for a while.

   _whatever this was, it was pent up for a_ real _long time._

“I’M SO SORRY. I...”

   “shhh. it’s ok boss, you don’t have to tell me yet.” The shorter skeleton may have even felt some tears silently dripping down his cheekbones himself. He was just happy to be this close to his brother again, even if it was only for a few moments.

   "HEY, SANS?"

   "yeah?"

   "PLEASE DON'T CALL ME 'BOSS' ANYMORE."

   The shorter skeleton smiled. "ok, papyrus."

* * *

 

   As time went on, their relationship wasn’t _as_ strained. Not perfect, but pretty okay. There were a lot of awkward statements and even more awkward handshakes, but it worked out.

It’s a good thing none of them _fell,_ after all.

 


End file.
